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Helm Konrad
Reinhard Graustein (born July 15, 1981), better known by his in-ring name of "Berlin Iron Horse" Helm Konrad, is a German professional wrestler, currently signed to the Professional Grappling Association. Graustein is a former competitor in the NWA Deutschland territory known as Eiserne Ring (Ger., "Ring of Iron"), and during that time participated in a talent exchange with All Asia Professional Wrestling in 2007. In March 2009, Graustein tried out for and was given a Professional Grappling Association roster spot as a result of B. Armstrong Ruby's World Talent Initiative. He has remained with the company up to the present time. A former PGA World Heavyweight Champion, Graustein is best known for his incredible physical strength and controversially stiff wrestling style, along with his current persona, "Berlin Iron Horse" Helm Konrad, a high-pressure competitor with a strict sense of honor and fair play, typically stoic in nature but subject to fits of berserker rage. Early Life Born in Sigmaringen, West Germany in 1981, Graustein lived a relatively normal life until the German reunification of 1990. Reunited not only with his East German countrymen, but with a branch of his extended family, the young Graustein learned he was a distant cousin of none other than the legendary professional wrestler, Karl Gotch. The Graustein family relocated to Berlin in 1993, and Reinhard became involved in a Berlin youth shoot boxing team known as Faust und Ehre (Ger., "Fist and Honor"), competing in the now-defunct "Hawk" weight class (weighing roughly 180 lbs. at the time). In 1997, Graustein was named to the Alle-Deutsch Amateur Boxend und Ringen von Ehre Gesellschaft (Ger., "All-German Amateur Boxing and Wrestling Honor Society") for his participation on this team, and traveled to Tokyo, Japan to witness the biennial S-Cup, or Shoot Boxing World Cup, the sport's world championship tournament. While there, he also attended an All Asia Pro event. Graustein graduated from the Gymnasium-level school Oberschule am Elsengrund in 1999. At this time, Graustein's involvement with Faust und Ehre also ended, with a final fight record of 16-3-2 (11 KOs, 1 submission, and one loss by KO). Follwing graduation, Graustein attended Technische Universität Dresden from 1999-2003, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Kinesiology. During his university career, Graustein developed and began in earnest his now well-known regime of strength and fitness training. Career Training and Debut (2004-2005) Inspired by the stories, matches, and career of his famous relation, Graustein traveled to the United States to meet Karl Gotch in the summer of 2004, and spent the summer training with Gotch. Following a referral from Gotch, Graustein traveled to Los Angeles, California early in 2005 and was accepted to train at the Inoki Dojo, the wrestling school founded by Antonio Inoki, Gotch's most famous student and protégé. Graduating on June 24, 2005 from the Inoki Dojo, Graustein wrestled several matches for Los Angeles-area independent promotions under his Dojo gimmick of "Hellhammer," a stoic, powerhouse black-leather-clad biker heel character fond of heavy metal music, inspired to a large degree by the Terminator film character. Graustein earned enough money to return to his native Germany, where he tried out for and eventually secured a roster spot with the NWA Deutschland territory Eiserne Ring, based out of Munich. Eiserne Ring and NWA Europe (2005-2006) Upon debuting in Eiserne Ring in August 2005, Graustein was repackaged as the patriotic face character Arminius, a forest-dwelling tribal warrior who hearkened back to Germany's ancient pre-Roman past. Graustein engaged in a worked shoot angle where he appeared to suffer from fits of berserk rage, which initially appeared to fit within his character's background. However, the angle culminated in a promo in late September where Graustein declared that the Arminius character had been forced on him by Eiserne Ring's management and driven him to a near-psychotic breakdown. He famously stripped off the furs, wig and helmet of Arminius to reveal his now-current black ring gear and trademark blonde buzzcut, declaring that he would wrestle under his own identity, declaring himself to be "Wilhelm Konrad." Konrad then turned heel again, embarking on an undefeated streak similar to that of Bill Goldberg, powered by the increasingly recurrent fits of rage suffered by the Konrad character. This led to his first major accomplishment, a victory in the annual Die vier Quadrate der Hölle (Ger., "Four Rings of Hell") gauntlet battle royal tournament held at NWA Deutschland's multi-territory October 2005 pay-per-view event, Teufelsnacht am den Brocken (Ger., "Devil's Night at the Brocken"), held live from the top of the Brocken, Germany's most famously haunted mountain. Following his victory at the Brocken, Konrad earned the right to challenge for any title in NWA Europe, choosing to challenge NWA Europe European Heavyweight Champion Marius "The Roman Bombardier" Ragnarsson at the January 2006 "Return to Reykjavik" PPV held in Reykjavik, Iceland. Unfortunately, a botched spot involving a top-rope German suplex by Konrad caused Ragnarsson serious neck injuries and forced a stop to the match. Videos of the incident, however, became very popular with the Internet wrestling community, and led Eiserne Ring officials to trade Graustein to AAPW as part of a mutual talent exchange. All Asia Professional Wrestling (2006-2007) Konrad debuted for All Asia on April 4, 2006 as Wilhelm Konrad (quickly shortened to "Helm Konrad"), defeating MALICE of the heel faction Hex-Killing, whom he feuded with for several weeks before beginning his now famous rivalry with "Mad Upz" TEISHU. TEISHU and his lackeys, El Arashikaze 1 and El Arashikaze 2, began appearing at ringside and heckling Konrad's non-Japanese wrestling style and ethnicity, as well as his stern demeanor, claiming he was unworthy to compete in Japan. When they actually interfered in a contest between Konrad and Kotaru Tokugawa, costing Konrad the match, he challenged TEISHU to a bout, which Konrad lost. The rivalry progressed apace, with Konrad coming closer and closer to defeating TEISHU every time they met in the ring, in a variety of match formats. Inevitably, the capable but underhanded and cowardly TEISHU would make use of the aid of the El Arashikazes, utilizing them as distraction or additional muscle to gain victory. Despite these recurrent setbacks, AAPW officials, enamoured with Konrad's determination, offered him a spot in the prestigious quadriennial Yamato Cup "Gigantic War Dungeon" contest if he could win a qualifying match against TEISHU on the August 29 edition of "AAPW Worldwide." When the El Arashikazes appeared in the crowd and headed to the ring, the then-current Yamato Cup holder Gigas Nakamura, who was delivering guest commentary, quickly ran into the ring and struck Konrad in the face, disqualifying TEISHU and securing Konrad's spot in the Dungeon match. On August 31, 2006, Konrad became the first non-Japanese to ever win the Yamato Cup, triumphing over fifteen other competitors in the bloody two-hour-long steel cage elimination match, defeating Nakamura with an avalanche variant of his finisher, an electric chair facebuster. Video of this spot also became extremely popular on the Internet and further increased Konrad's reputation for incredible physical power. It was following Gigantic War Dungeon '06 that Konrad acquired the nickname of "Berlin Iron Horse," incorporating it into his official ring name. Konrad spent the rest of the year involved in an interpromotional feud with "Mr. Hell" Kensuke Irashi of the Sapporo-based Crash Battle Wrestling Federation. The angle, which centered around Irashi calling into question Konrad's claim to be the newest heir to the Gotch wrestling tradition, culminated at the interpromotional "Gods and Heroes" show, which ran January 3, 2007, as the preamble to the annual NJPW January 4 show at the Tokyo Dome. Irashi and his associate, NWA UK Hammerlock representative "Whirling Scots Devil" Angus MacAngus, squared off against Konrad and a mystery partner, who was revealed at the time of the match as Antonio Inoki, who came out of retirement for the show. Konrad debuted his inverted Emerald Fusion finisher, the Donnerschlag (see below), but Inoki scored the win for his team after hitting his enzuigiri on Irashi. Following Gods and Heroes, Konrad competed in the "Ringu no Hanahatsu" (Jap., "Ring of Fire") tournament, held to find a new champion for the vacated Pacific Heavyweight Championship (the previous champion, Akiyama Kawada, had been injured). He was crowned champion after defeating Big Bullet IV at Roaring Spirit of Fight IX in April 2007, but never actually owned the Pacific title belt, as "Mad Upz" TEISHU arrived on the scene and absconded with the title, seeking revenge for his unsuccessful efforts to deny Konrad the Yamato Cup. TEISHU evaded Konrad until June, when they faced each other at Angry Furious Burning VI, and TEISHU legitimized his claim to the Pacfic Title with a victory over Konrad. Konrad's tenure with AAPW came to an abrupt end at the end of July, when he shoot knocked out mixed martial artist John Onion of the Fury-9 promotion during an exhibition match. Heavily hyped in the Japanese sporting press due to Konrad's amateur shoot boxing background, All Asia management was banking heavily on the reception of the match, hoping to enter into a permanent working agreement with Fury-9 - a plan primarily organized by AAPW President Alvin Shohei. Konrad was unenthusiastic about the contest, mostly due to the deteriorating health of his inspiration and mentor, Karl Gotch. Gotch died on July 28, a mere two days before the scheduled Konrad/Onion match. Konrad requested a rescheduling or a replacement in order to attend Gotch's funeral, but AAPW refused. Konrad appeared for the match, but refused to participate, ignoring or blocking Onion's offense and engaging in none of his own for two rounds. Frustrated, Onion finally thumbed Konrad in the eye, and Konrad responded with a full-strength discus lariat, knocking Onion out, fracturing his jaw in three places, and severely bruising his larynx. The match immediately came to an end, and Konrad was summarily and personally dismissed on live television by Shohei. He left Japan the next day, arriving in the United States in time for Gotch's funeral. European and American Independent Promotions (2007-2009) After the funeral of his distant cousin and mentor, Konrad returned to Europe and began wrestling in several different promotions, working somewhat regularly in Eiserne Ring, but also for Italian Championship Wrestling, and the Novgorod-based Rurik's Crown promotion. He would occasionally resurrect his Hellhammer persona, particularly for single appearances. However, Konrad had difficulty finding steady work due to the incident with Marcus Ragnarsson in Reykjavik in 2006, and the Japanese influence on his wrestling style, which had become significantly stiffer, exacerbated the problem. Konrad wrestled his last match on European soil in April 2008, when he appeared as Hellhammer in the preliminary round of the Lord of the Ring tournament, losing to future fellow PGA competitor Jack Cavendish. Arriving in the United States in June 2008, Konrad wrestled for a number of independent promotions, sticking mostly to National Wrestling Alliance territories due to his past history with Eiserne Ring - most notably the western Michigan-based Northern Fury promotion, where he became the first to unify the Upper Peninsula Heavyweight Championship and Lower Peninsula Heavyweight Championship into the All-Michigan Heavyweight Championship, following a victory over Shane Justice. Konrad wrestled several dark matches for POWER Pro in the summer of 2008, but left the promotion after learning that POWER Pro's management, specifically Gregory Michael Funman intended for him to become Thor von Lightningstrike. During his time in Northern Fury, Konrad attended several pre-unionization PGA house shows in the Cleveland area, hoping to speak with PGA management. However, while trying to speak to Balk Ruby backstage, Konrad was confronted by Sexual Nightmare, who stated PGA did not need "any pissant Nazi wannabes walking around pretending to be Karl Gotch's grandson or whatever the hell you are." Enraged, Konrad responded with an uppercut that left Nightmare on the floor, followed by a number of threats on Nightmare's life, which led to him being escorted from the arena by police, although neither Sexual Nightmare nor PGA pressed charges following the incident. Returning to Northern Fury, Konrad continued wrestling wherever he could until late February 2009, when he was contacted by PGA for a tryout. Hired on the spot, he debuted for the company on March 4, 2009, with a victory over Osteoporosis. Still holding the All-Michigan Heavyweight Championship for Northern Fury, Konrad dropped the title to Johnny Alcatraz on March 8, his final match with the promotion. Unfinished In wrestling Pro Graps Association *'Finishing Moves' ** Blitzhammer (Ger., "Lightning Hammer"; high-speed Canadian Hammer) **''Donnerschlag'' (Ger., "Thunder Crush"; high-speed inverted Emerald Fusion) **''Eisentor'' (Ger., "Iron Gate"; Electric chair sweep hold) **''Avalanche release German suplex'' *'Signature Moves' **''Das Auge des Sturms'' (Ger., "The Eye of the Storm"; high-speed discus lariat) **Jackknife/release powerbomb **STK (Iron claw into STO) **Roundhouse kick to running opponent **Spinebuster from deadlift position *'Nicknames' **'"Berlin Iron Horse"' **"The Teutonic Wrecking Ball" **"The Hessian Nightmare" **"The Prussian Powerhouse" *'Entrance Themes' **"Battering Ram," by Iron Savior NWA Northern Fury Wrestling *'Entrance Themes' **"The Dawn of Battle," by Manowar All Asia Pro Wrestling *'Finishing Moves' **''Eisen und Blut'' (Ger., "Iron and Blood"; electric chair facebuster) *'Entrance Themes' **"Feuer Frei," by Rammstein Championships and Accomplishments *'Professional Grappling Association' ** PGA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, 2009) *'All Asia Pro Wrestling' ** Yamato Cup (1 time {2006}, current - the next Yamato Cup event will be held in 2010) ** Pacific Heavyweight Championship (2007, 1 time, never physically owned belt) Category:PGA World Heavyweight Wrestling Champions